The Real World

by Jacob Long

  “No. Sienna does not want my front. I don't think Sienna even likes me much as a person. She more or less tolerates me. We butt heads a lot in training.” Elena looks up as if she has another witty joke. “No,” I tell her, holding my finger up. “Sienna likes Gabriel.” At this point, Gabriel, RT and I are close friends. Once I became a really good fighter, Gabriel came to me and I started teaching him some things. We've been friends ever since. “And RT likes Sienna,” says Elena. “What a complicated mess.” “Yes. Aren't you so glad that we found each other when we did?”

  Her head pops up, out of her arms, eyes glaring at me. "Still mad about the whole recon mission thing?" I ask. "Right. No problem. I understand." She sits up, putting on an angry face. She makes a fist and acts like she's going to punch me. She winds up fast but softens on the delivery. She lightly punches the table, creating a tapping sound. "I know that we should do what we can, and I know that it's selfish, but-I just don't want YOU to go. She taps on the table again and again...

  The Extreme World–Somewhere in the Pacific–2020

  A bump on the cockpit window wakes me and I open my eyes to see a shark swimming a few feet away. It must have knocked into the glass. I turn around to see RT still at the Tawhiri controls.

  “Hey, welcome back, Sunshine.” He says.

  I smile, groggily. “How long was I out?”

  “About ten minutes. Isn't that a new record?” He asks, rhetorically.

  "Ha ha," I reply sarcastically.

  I check the screen to see how far we have pushed the vessel away. There is still quite a ways to go. They are about ten miles shy of where we want them to be. The next hour is uncomfortable. Being resigned to a tight space is not a great feeling. RT and I pass the time by eating some snacks and talking about some of his projects. We discuss possible ways to improve the agricultural system of Idem. This goes on for an hour or so until we finally feel that they are far enough away.

  RT deactivates the MT units and deploys the biometric scanner drone. He activates the scanner. On my screen, I can now see that the vessel is a submarine. The colors and the symbols catch my eye. It belongs to the Supreme Ministry. Although, something is different about this sub. I can tell that it's an older vessel by its slight alterations. It's so old that I doubt the Ministry would still keep it in service. I'm sure that Carlisle and Fulloway would have melted it down and recycled it by now.

  It doesn't take long for the biometric results to come back. There are thirty-five people on board, and only four of them are super-human. Of those four, three of them are level 1, and one of them is a level 3. The computer is having a difficult time placing the last guy.

  "So what's up with the scanner? What is this guy? An alien?" I say. "I'm not entirely sure," RT replies. It looks as though he has the body of an advanced athlete and there is something strange about his mind. I don't think they are from the Ministry though." He says, almost as a question. "Yeah, I don't either. Except I've never known any other groups aside from us who have stolen Ministry vehicles." I say, curiously. "Have you ever known any other groups aside from us or the Ministry?” asks RT. “Fair point,” I reply. A typical Ministry submarine that is still in service will have one level 3 Super-human, two level 2's and two level 1's.

  It doesn't follow the typical structure but it could be a trick. Although, how would they know to trick us like this? Even though he was inspired by the Ministry's hand scanners, RT developed this specific type of biometric scanner completely on his own. I watch the blip on the monitor as the submarine continues to float away.

  "Let's jam their communication system, use Tawhiri to drive them up to the surface, and I'll talk to them," I say. The plan takes only a few minutes to achieve. At about one hundred yards away, I open my hatch and stand up. I take the helmet off and put a headset on. I stretch my hands to my sides and with two bursts of flame, I fly straight up into the air. My body is fully covered in flame as I float, looking at my target. I fly over to it, like a heat-seeking missile, and land on the top. I make no effort to be soft about it.

  I hear RT speak to them over the comm system. "Unidentified Vessel, my associate is on your roof. Send up your leader to state your purpose and destination." I set myself ablaze again. Just in case they're not friendly. The hatch opens and two hands appear followed by the bald head of a man who looks to be in his early sixties. He looks slightly like an older version of Elena's father, Piotr Sr. As his torso appears, I hold my hand up. "That's far enough," I say. "Are you Ministry?" The man cracks a slight smile. “Do I look Ministry?” He says. “Your clothes don't look Ministry and you look too old to be a soldier... but you have one of their old submarines.” I reply.

  “Can I come up there and talk?”

  “Who are you, and why are you here?

  "My name is Myles Barrett," he replies.

  "And I've been looking for you for a while,

  Jayden Lancaster.

  I have a plan to take down the Supreme Ministry once and for all, but I need your help to make it happen."

  3

  On a beautiful sunny day, atop an old rusty submarine, I stand, listening to a former Administrator of the Supreme Ministry ask me to help him defeat the aforementioned all-powerful military force by traveling to another dimension. Barrett and two of his soldiers stand a few yards away from RT and I. "We get to the crystals before they do and we can save this world as well as the others," Barrett states, defending his plan.

  The crystals of which he is referring to are the Omega Crystals. They contain a powerful element called Fortisium. My Great Grandfather, Theodore Lancaster Jr discovered the crystals and the element inside of them shortly after finding the first island of Idem. Back then, my great grandfather wanted to use it to help the world by advancing all technological endeavors. Unfortunately, there were others who had less peaceful plans for the important element. These plans led to the creation of the Omega Bomb. After the bombs were launched, my Great Grandfather convinced many of his family and friends to retreat to the first island with him. By the time they got there, Carlisle and Fulloway had already acquired a vast amount of the crystals.

  However, they did not know the location of the island so they couldn't get any more. Unfortunately, they have been doing just fine with the amount that they already had. The Supreme Ministry's advanced technology can be largely attributed to the many applications of Fortisium. Although we don't have as good of an understanding of the element as the Ministry does, Idem has also used Fortisium to prosper. For the last seven decades, our scientists and engineers have been using it for the development of our technology. However, most of the advances have come in the last twenty years due to a combination of geniuses like RT and stolen information from the Ministry

  "Before we go deeper into your crazy plan," I reply, "tell me, what caused the change of heart? Why did you leave the Supreme Ministry?" "I was an Administrator back in the 1960's," he begins. Oh, good. The story version. I had to ask. "My abilities have allowed me to age slowly," he continues. "I also have a resistance to mind control. These things helped me to discover that the Consuls were using their abilities to promote their cause. After further investigation, I found out they were studying Fulloway's DNA to engineer mind control drugs. So I got out before that began. I convinced three others to break away with me. We stole this submarine along with a few other vehicles, weapons, and supplies, and fled to Australia. We found a group of survivors and started a small community.

  Over the next thirty years, we trained our people into a strong militant group. We call ourselves, the Faction. Eventually, we started sending spies to Paradisum. Over the next twenty-five years, we stole secrets from Paradisum. We even found out about the Battle of Idem where you lost your first Island and so many people. The secrets we have discovered have never been enough though. Not until we discovered that Carlisle and Fulloway had constructed a machine that would take them to another world, an alternate dimension. After years of stealing plans and losing spies, our scient
ists have finally built an Inter-Dimensional Teleportation machine.”

  I remember seeing plans for one of these machines only a few years ago. They belonged to my Great Grandfather. It was one of the many projects that he started after discovering the Omega-crystals. However, once World War 2 began, inter-dimensional travel quickly went to the wayside. There was no time for vacationing to other worlds while the government wanted an Atomic bomb. Once the war was over, he went back to researching it, but it wasn't long before the Omega War began. I don't think my Great Grandfather ever completed his machine. While on the first island, he was more focused on developing better ways to keep us safe from the Ministry. Perhaps Carlisle and Fulloway stole his original schematics and figured out how to make it work.

  "I don't get it," I say, after hearing his story. "Why would they want to travel to other worlds? There are no big threats against them in this world, and still, a lot of lands for them to expand their empire with." "Several reasons, actually," Barrett replies. "The main one being that they need or rather want more Omega-crystals. Everything that they have runs off of the Fortisium that's inside of those crystals, and their supply is finally running out." I know this already, but I let him continue anyway.

  "The Ministry has unsuccessfully scoured this world looking for more. They think that there may be no more crystals here at all." I'm careful not to let my face reveal that I know anything about the crystals. "The people of some of these other worlds have not yet discovered them," Barrett continues. "We need you to go there, stop the Ministry from getting the crystals, and find out what else they are up to in these other worlds." It sounds crazy to me. I shake my head and pull the cornbread out of my pocket. “Yeah, I'm just going to leave this here and go...” I say as I place the wrapped bread on top of the submarine.

  “We need you,” says Barrett.

  “They already have those crystals,” I reply.

  “The crystals came from the first island didn't they?” I stare at him for a moment, narrowing my gaze. “You have an entire platoon of ready and willing soldiers.” "And none of them are a class 4 or 5 super-human. When we learned about the island of Idem that was filled with several super-humans, I knew that some of you had to have survived."

  “No,” I strike back. “You didn't know that.”

  “We don't know the extent of the threats that lie on the other side of that gateway.” “What happened to your three super friends?” “They each died on missions to Paradisum.” “It doesn't sound like a group I want to be a part of. Why don't you go?” “I'm not as good as I once was. I could end up compromising the mission.”

  I pause for a moment.

  "You are right. Some of Idem's people are still alive. It's my job to make sure they stay that way. I can't do anything that would lead the Ministry back to them.” Barrett looks at me for a moment, pondering his next move. "Very well. Can you at least allow us to ally with your people?"

  I nod. “That is a possibility that we'll have to discuss with all of our leaders.”

  “All right. Lead the way.”

  “Oh, I'm not taking you to Idem. I'm still not sure if I can trust you.”

  “You've got a lot of nerve, kid,”

  “You really need to stop calling me that,”

  “Hey, uh, Jayden?” RT says.

  "I hate to interrupt this special moment, but we've got an incoming vessel. North East."

  I look over for it, but the fog created by Tawhiri hasn't fully dissipated. I look at Barrett. "You have any radar on this clunker? There's a ship coming from the northeast. "Barrett, his two soldiers, and I walk to the end of the sub-roof and look out. RT butts in, "Uh, Jayden, it's coming in pretty fast." We look down at the wavy waters below. "It's Poseidon, the Ministry's new genetically engineered Navy General," Barrett tells me with a voice that sounds less than excited. He yells down the hole. "Battle stations! Incoming vessel! North East!"

  "I'm going to fly up and see what we're dealing with," I say. "Wait! This guy can create and control water. He's young and inexperienced, but he's powerful and determined as well. Be careful, soldier." The tone in his voice tells me that Barrett is a good guy. Which makes me feel guilty for not trusting him so far. It's just too bad; trust is a luxury that I can't afford.

  In a huge burst of flame, I fly up, high above the fog. I can see the ship now, and it is massive. There are four cannons on the front of the ship all aiming forward and downward. At the bow is a man who I assume is Poseidon since his arms are stretched out reaching toward the waters below. The waves behind the ship are pushing it swiftly and directly toward the submarine.

  The namesake of a Greek god huh? Let's see how well that holds up. Using my hands, I throw several fireballs at the ship. Before they can hit, Poseidon sees them, and simply lifts his arm up into the air. As he does so, a vast wall of water rises from the ocean and shields them from my attack. Fire against water. This is not going to be easy. "RT, do you think you can use Tawhiri against them?" I say over the comm system. "I'll see if I can create a small storm and focus it on their ship," RT replies.

  I see the submarine sink under the water as the ship opens fire. Maybe Barrett has a plan of attack. Although, I'm not sure what it could be. It seems that if they launch a rocket, Poseidon could just use the water to push it right back at them. He pulls a mass of water from the Ocean and jumps onto it, riding it like a wave. It's at this point that I realize I should have been thinking of my own plan. He brings his fists forward, aimed at me, and a huge flood of water bursts in my direction.

  I reflexively counteract by pushing my hands forward and shooting a jet stream of flame at the oncoming water. The two streams hit in between us and begin to extinguish each other. A few seconds seem like minutes as heaps of smoke fill the air and neither of us gain the upper hand.

  My rapid healing ability is keeping me in the game, however, I can tell that Poseidon does not have the same luxury. He seems to be exhausting his energy. So he tries a new tactic and sends streams of water at me from the side and beneath. He pulls the water from the Ocean and I realize what he's doing. He's not creating his own water. By using what's already there, he's saving energy. The sheer volume is too much. I am knocked back and down several hundred feet. The wind is knocked out of me as I feel my back smack into the water. I'm still conscious. Right behind me, I can hear yelling.

  “Grab my hand!” RT screams as he reaches down from the Tempest cockpit. I reach up and climb inside just before Poseidon sends a burst of water toward the Tempest. We take off in flight before it hits. The hatch window slides closed before the wind becomes too powerful.

  As we evade the river of water hurling at us through the air, I can see that Ministry ship has sustained some damage. I'm guessing that Barrett and RT attacked it while I kept Poseidon busy. The storm clouds above the ship are small but the lightning coming from them is powerful. The sub has also received some damage. I can see fuel leaking out and creeping to the surface. The sub fires a missile and it strikes the hull just under the water. It has no effect. The alloy that they use is incredible. I thought that the Faction had been spying on these guys. Finding out their weaknesses. I guess they haven't found a weakness for this particular problem yet.

  There is one working cannon left on deck when an enormous wave of water envelopes the storm cloud. It will take Tawhiri only a minute to build it back up. Something tells me that's all of the time that Poseidon needs. We don't have enough time to worry about his next move. The last cannon aims down on the submarine that is now only a few feet under the water. I slide open my cockpit window. RT flies us between the sub and the cannon. As it opens fire, I send a massive burst of flame in its direction. The cannon and the shots that it fired are instantly disintegrated. We turn up, high into the air, but not high enough. The sweet satisfaction of success quickly leaves my face as we stare down a tsunami coming straight at us.

  Poseidon sacrificed his last cannon so that he could take us out. The Tempest is knocked, upside down, and
I am thrown out into the water. RT's cockpit is still closed. He is taken with the Tempest, deep underneath the ocean. I only have a small amount of time before the water pressure is too much and the Tempest is demolished with RT inside. Fighting against Poseidon's power underwater seems like a losing battle, so I consider other options. I remember the fuel leak on the submarine, so I swim toward it. I spread as much fuel onto my clothes as possible, and swim to the surface.

  My body ignites in flame as I take to the air, heading straight up. I fly a few dozen feet above Poseidon and toss a few fireballs at him to get his attention. As soon as I have it, I soar toward him, straight on. I have to time this just right. He sends a river of water at me, and as it hits, I generate as much combustion energy as I can. An inferno fills the sky. Poseidon and all of his water instantly evaporate as I am knocked back and thrown into the ocean for the third time today. All I hear is the smack of my body hitting the water.